The Vampire Lovers
Encyclopedia
The Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Hammer Horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker
and starring Peter Cushing
, Ingrid Pitt
, Madeline Smith
, Kate O'Mara
, and Jon Finch
. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla
and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in the trilogy are Lust for a Vampire
(1971) and Twins of Evil
(1972). The three films were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes
. In the early 1980s an Australian punk group named themselves Vampire Lovers
in a tribute to the movie.
) in a diaphanous gown materialises from a misty graveyard. Encountering the Baron
Hartog (Douglas Wilmer
), a vampire hunter
out to avenge the death of his sister, the girl is revealed as a vampire when her breast is seared by his crucifix
. Baring her fangs to attack the Baron, she is swiftly decapitated.
Many years later, a sultry dark-haired lady leaves her daughter Marcilla (Ingrid Pitt
) in the care of General
von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing
) and his family at their Styrian mansion. Marcilla quickly befriends the General's daughter, Laura (Pippa Steel
). Laura suffers nightmares that she is being attacked, and her health deteriorates until she dies. Marcilla vanishes from the General's home.
Faking a carriage break-down, Marcilla's mother leaves her (now using the alias Carmilla) at the residence of a Mr Morton. Here, Carmilla befriends and seduces Morton's daughter Emma (Madeline Smith
) but her need to feed overcomes her emotional attachment and Emma too begins to fade. Emma has nightmares of being pierced over the heart, and her breast shows tiny wounds. Emma's governess, Mme. Perrodot (Kate O'Mara
) also falls victim to Carmilla's erotic blandishments and becomes her willing tool. Some in the household, the butler and a doctor, suspect what might be happening, especially in the wake of several local girls' suddenly dying. But Carmilla kills each one. All the while, a mysterious man in black (clearly also a vampire) watches events from a distance, smiling (his presence is never explained).
After Carmilla kills the butler, having convinced him that Mme. Perrodot is a vampire then persuaded him (with her womanly charms) to remove the garlic protecting Emma, Carmilla goes to Emma's bedroom. She says she must go away, but is taking Emma with her. A desperate and sick Madame begs Carmilla to take her with her. Carmilla kills her, in front of a horrified Emma. Emma is barely rescued by a young man named Carl (Jon Finch
) who fashions a makeshift cross from his dagger. Carmilla flees to her nearby ancestral castle, now a ruin.
All this coincides with the arrival of the General, who brings with him a now-aged Baron Hartog. They find Carmilla's grave, where she sleeps. Her eyes open, and interestingly enough she makes no move to defend herself. The General lifts a stake—and back in her bedchamber Emma screams "No!"—then drives it into Carmilla's heart. He then cuts off her head. Carmilla's portrait on the wall decays, showing now a fanged skeleton instead of a beautiful young woman.
, who warned the studio about depictions of lesbian
ism, pointing out that a previous lesbian film, The Killing of Sister George
, had had five minutes excised by his office. In response Hammer replied that the lesbianism was not of their doing but was present in the original story by Le Fanu. Trevelyan backed down. Production of The Vampire Lovers began at Elstree Studios
on 19 January 1970 and used locations in the grounds of Moor Park Mansion, Hertfordshire (standing in for Styria, Central Europe). Produced on a relatively low budget of £165,227, it was the final Hammer film to be financed with American money—most of the later films were backed by Rank
or EMI
.
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker , born Roy Horace Baker, was an English film director, credited as Roy Baker for much of his career. His best known film is A Night to Remember which won a Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film in 1959...
and starring Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
, Ingrid Pitt
Ingrid Pitt
Ingrid Pitt was an actress best known for her work in horror films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Background:Pitt was born Ingoushka Petrov in Warsaw, Poland to a German father of Russian descent and a Polish Jewish mother. During World War II she and her family were imprisoned in a concentration camp...
, Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2...
, Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara is an English film, stage and television actress. She is perhaps most widely known for her role as Caress Morell, the scheming sister of Alexis Colby in the 1980s American primetime soap opera Dynasty, though is also known for playing other villains such as The Rani in Doctor Who and...
, and Jon Finch
Jon Finch
Jon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's...
. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla
Carmilla
Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla...
and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in the trilogy are Lust for a Vampire
Lust for a Vampire
Lust For a Vampire is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Yutte Stensgaard, Michael Johnston and Barbara Jefford. It is the second film in the so-called Karnstein Trilogy loosely based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla...
(1971) and Twins of Evil
Twins of Evil
Twins of Evil is a 1971 horror film by Hammer Film Productions starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life twins and former Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson....
(1972). The three films were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes
Lesbian vampire
Lesbian vampirism is a trope in 20th century exploitation film that has its roots in Joseph Sheridan le Fanu's novella Carmilla about the predatory love of a female vampire for a young woman :...
. In the early 1980s an Australian punk group named themselves Vampire Lovers
Vampire Lovers (Australian band)
The Vampire Lovers, also known as Vampyre Lovers or Vampire Lovers were a Brisbane punk rock group formed in 1982 in Queensland, Australia. Music historian, Ian McFarlane, stated that Brisbane produced "some of the most anarchistic bands of the Australian punk rock era" and that it was a city...
in a tribute to the movie.
Plot
In early 19th century Styria, a beautiful blonde (Kirsten LindholmKirsten Lindholm
Kirsten Lindholm, born Kirsten Lindholm Andreassen on 1 September 1943 in Odense, Denmark, was a model and a film actress in Hammer horror movies, in which she first appeared as Kirsten Betts...
) in a diaphanous gown materialises from a misty graveyard. Encountering the Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
Hartog (Douglas Wilmer
Douglas Wilmer
-Early life:Wilmer was born in London and educated at King's School, Canterbury and Stonyhurst College. He trained at RADA but was called up to the Army in World War II. Posted to an antitank battery in the Royal West African Frontier Force, he was invalided out after he acquired tuberculosis. He...
), a vampire hunter
Vampire hunter
A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a character in folklore and fiction who specializes in finding and destroying vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures....
out to avenge the death of his sister, the girl is revealed as a vampire when her breast is seared by his crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
. Baring her fangs to attack the Baron, she is swiftly decapitated.
Many years later, a sultry dark-haired lady leaves her daughter Marcilla (Ingrid Pitt
Ingrid Pitt
Ingrid Pitt was an actress best known for her work in horror films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Background:Pitt was born Ingoushka Petrov in Warsaw, Poland to a German father of Russian descent and a Polish Jewish mother. During World War II she and her family were imprisoned in a concentration camp...
) in the care of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
) and his family at their Styrian mansion. Marcilla quickly befriends the General's daughter, Laura (Pippa Steel
Pippa Steel
Pippa Steel was a British actress best known for her roles in two Hammer horror films: The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire ....
). Laura suffers nightmares that she is being attacked, and her health deteriorates until she dies. Marcilla vanishes from the General's home.
Faking a carriage break-down, Marcilla's mother leaves her (now using the alias Carmilla) at the residence of a Mr Morton. Here, Carmilla befriends and seduces Morton's daughter Emma (Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2...
) but her need to feed overcomes her emotional attachment and Emma too begins to fade. Emma has nightmares of being pierced over the heart, and her breast shows tiny wounds. Emma's governess, Mme. Perrodot (Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara is an English film, stage and television actress. She is perhaps most widely known for her role as Caress Morell, the scheming sister of Alexis Colby in the 1980s American primetime soap opera Dynasty, though is also known for playing other villains such as The Rani in Doctor Who and...
) also falls victim to Carmilla's erotic blandishments and becomes her willing tool. Some in the household, the butler and a doctor, suspect what might be happening, especially in the wake of several local girls' suddenly dying. But Carmilla kills each one. All the while, a mysterious man in black (clearly also a vampire) watches events from a distance, smiling (his presence is never explained).
After Carmilla kills the butler, having convinced him that Mme. Perrodot is a vampire then persuaded him (with her womanly charms) to remove the garlic protecting Emma, Carmilla goes to Emma's bedroom. She says she must go away, but is taking Emma with her. A desperate and sick Madame begs Carmilla to take her with her. Carmilla kills her, in front of a horrified Emma. Emma is barely rescued by a young man named Carl (Jon Finch
Jon Finch
Jon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's...
) who fashions a makeshift cross from his dagger. Carmilla flees to her nearby ancestral castle, now a ruin.
All this coincides with the arrival of the General, who brings with him a now-aged Baron Hartog. They find Carmilla's grave, where she sleeps. Her eyes open, and interestingly enough she makes no move to defend herself. The General lifts a stake—and back in her bedchamber Emma screams "No!"—then drives it into Carmilla's heart. He then cuts off her head. Carmilla's portrait on the wall decays, showing now a fanged skeleton instead of a beautiful young woman.
Cast
- Ingrid PittIngrid PittIngrid Pitt was an actress best known for her work in horror films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Background:Pitt was born Ingoushka Petrov in Warsaw, Poland to a German father of Russian descent and a Polish Jewish mother. During World War II she and her family were imprisoned in a concentration camp...
as Marcilla/Carmilla/Mircalla Karnstein - Madeline SmithMadeline SmithMadeline Smith is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2...
as Emma Morton - Kate O'MaraKate O'MaraKate O'Mara is an English film, stage and television actress. She is perhaps most widely known for her role as Caress Morell, the scheming sister of Alexis Colby in the 1980s American primetime soap opera Dynasty, though is also known for playing other villains such as The Rani in Doctor Who and...
as Governess Mlle. Perrodot - Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
as General von Spielsdorf - George Cole as Roger Morton
- Ferdy MayneFerdy Mayne-Early life:He was born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel, in Mainz, Germany. His German father was the Judge of Mayence, and his half-English mother gave singing lessons. Because his family was Jewish, he was sent to England to protect him from the Nazis, and he stayed with his aunt, the photographer...
as Doctor - Douglas WilmerDouglas Wilmer-Early life:Wilmer was born in London and educated at King's School, Canterbury and Stonyhurst College. He trained at RADA but was called up to the Army in World War II. Posted to an antitank battery in the Royal West African Frontier Force, he was invalided out after he acquired tuberculosis. He...
as Baron Joachim von Hartog - Dawn AddamsDawn AddamsDawn Addams was an English actress in motion pictures of the 1950s.-Life and career:She was born Victoria Dawn Addams in Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, the daughter of Ethel Mary and Captain James Ramage Addams. Her mother died when she was young, and she spent her early life in Calcutta, India...
as The Countess - Jon FinchJon FinchJon Finch is an English actor noted for many Shakespearean roles. Perhaps his most notable role was the title role in Roman Polanski's 1971 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His other famous role was as a down-and-out ex-RAF pilot wrongly accused of murder in Alfred Hitchcock's...
as Carl Ebhardt - Pippa SteelPippa SteelPippa Steel was a British actress best known for her roles in two Hammer horror films: The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire ....
as Laura - Kirsten LindholmKirsten LindholmKirsten Lindholm, born Kirsten Lindholm Andreassen on 1 September 1943 in Odense, Denmark, was a model and a film actress in Hammer horror movies, in which she first appeared as Kirsten Betts...
as 1st Vampire - Janet KeyJanet KeyJanet Key was an English actress with a varied career in theatre, film and television from the late 1960s until her death.-Career:...
as Gretchin - Harvey HallHarvey HallHarvey L. Hall is the current mayor of Bakersfield, California, serving his third term, having last been re-elected in June 2008. Hall was first elected in 2000, and first re-elected in 2004...
as Renton - Lindsay KempLindsay KempLindsay Kemp is a British dancer, actor, teacher, mime artist and choreographer.Born in South Shields on May 3, 1938, Kemp's father, a seaman, was lost at sea in 1940. According to Kemp, he danced from early childhood: "I'd dance on the kitchen table to entertain the neighbours. I mean, it was a...
as Jester - John Forbes-RobertsonJohn Forbes-Robertson (actor)John Forbes-Robertson was a British actor best-known for being the only actor other than Christopher Lee to play the title role in the Hammer horror series of Dracula films....
as Man in Black - Charles Farrell as Landlord
Production
Before production the script of The Vampire Lovers was sent to the chief censor John TrevelyanJohn Trevelyan
John Trevelyan was Secretary of the Board of the British Board of Film Censors from 1958–1971.Trevelyan was born in Bromley, England. He brought a more liberal approach to the role of Chief Censor than his predecessors claiming: "We are paid to have dirty minds". However his approach was harshly...
, who warned the studio about depictions of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
ism, pointing out that a previous lesbian film, The Killing of Sister George
The Killing of Sister George
The Killing of Sister George is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was adapted as a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.- Stage version :Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series Applehurst, a nurse who ministers to the medical needs and personal problems of the local villagers...
, had had five minutes excised by his office. In response Hammer replied that the lesbianism was not of their doing but was present in the original story by Le Fanu. Trevelyan backed down. Production of The Vampire Lovers began at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
on 19 January 1970 and used locations in the grounds of Moor Park Mansion, Hertfordshire (standing in for Styria, Central Europe). Produced on a relatively low budget of £165,227, it was the final Hammer film to be financed with American money—most of the later films were backed by Rank
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
or EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.